Annex D: Studies and Analyses
- Department of Defense Report to
Congress: Domestic Preparedness Program in the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction
(1 May 1997).
- An Assessment of Federal Consequence Management Capabilities for Response to Nuclear,
Biological or Chemical (NBC) Terrorism - A Report to the President in coordination with
the Catastrophic Disaster Response Group (February 1997).
- Chem-Bio 2010: Assessment of the impact of Chem/Bio Weapons on Joint Operations in 2010
(Joint Staff - September 1997).
- The Role of the National Guard in Emergency Preparedness and Response for the United
States Congress and Federal Emergency Management Agency (January 1997).
- Defense Science Board: DoD Responses to Transnational Threats (August 1997).
- Proliferation: Threat and Response.
Office of the Secretary of Defense (November 1997).
- Report of the National Defense
Panel: Transforming Defense "National Security for the 21st Century (December
1997).
- NBC Terrorism Response Focus Group for Local Government Report (October 1996).
- National Governor's Association Workshop with Interagency Partners (FEMA, DoD, EPA, FBI,
DHHS and DVA) (September 1996).
Twenty six states participated in assessing capabilities to respond to
and manage the consequences of nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) terrorism. These 26
states were chosen because their large urban areas and other factors could make them
potential targets for a terrorist incident.
- FEMA - September 1996
During September 1996, FEMA met with representatives from Boston, MA;
Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; and Philadelphia, PA. They focused on the capabilities and
needs of local government to respond to terrorist incidents involving WMD. Input and
feedback from this sampling of U.S. metropolitan areas was intended to provide an
indication of the spectrum of nationwide preparedness at the local level. Participants
primarily represented emergency response and public health organizations from the
respective state and local governments. Policy and subject matter experts included Federal
officials from FEMA, the FBI, DHHS, and DoD.
Overall, the group consensus was that the local preparedness for
response to WMD terrorist incidents is nominal. To the extent that hazardous material
preparedness applies to the NBC arena, some base level exists. However, a great deal of
progress remains to be made on resource, planning, and training fronts regarding the
unique nature of NBC terrorist incidents.
- FEMA/FBI Report to Congress (January 1997).
FEMA and FBI submitted a Joint Report to Congress in January 1997. It
addressed both crisis management/prevention and consequence management/response
activities. This report focused on capabilities and interagency roles and responsibilities
to respond to an incident involving WMD. In the assessment summary, the impact of a WMD
incident and significant response requirement were recognized.
A NBC terrorist incident may occur as a local event with potentially
profound national implications. In responding to a NBC incident, first responders must be
able to provide critical resources within minutes to mitigate the effects of the incident.
Since the ability of the local government to deal with the immediate effects of an
incident is essential to the success of any NBC response, enhancing and maintaining the
local capability with trained and adequately equipped responders is a key component of a
viable national terrorism response capability.
- DoD Focus Group Meetings (February 1997).
DoD, with the support of other Federal agencies, conducted a series of
focus group meetings with first responders during February 1997. The findings and
recommendations of the groups formed the basis of a comprehensive set of training
performance objectives. Based upon the focus group's review, a training course development
program was begun to modify existing training courses, and develop programs of instruction
and instructional material.
- DoD/DoE Report to Congress (April 1996).
DoD and DoE, in consultation with FEMA, submitted a report to Congress
in 1996 on current plans, resources, and capabilities to respond to a nuclear,
radiological, biological, or chemical terrorist attack. The report covered consequence
management plans and capabilities. Key points made were, first, there is a fundamental
shift from the local or regional level of Federal involvement and decision-making
authority to Washington, DC and the SECDEF's personal involvement during a WMD domestic
terrorist incident. Second, there are some highly trained personnel available and
excellent capabilities in many consequence management organizations to respond to a
domestic NBC disaster. Finally, first responders need training, equipment, and supplies,
yet there are limited quantities of DoD combat supplies available for NBC contingencies.
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